OUR COOPERATIVE MODEL
We know that children benefit from being able to share their first school experiences with parents and caregivers. Our cooperative model lends to families forming genuine, collaborative community within the school. As a staff, we truly value this relationship, understanding that it creates the space for children to better develop security and trust in their classrooms and teachers. In turn, they are available for real learning to take place. Each day, parents are in the classrooms and we are collaborating together.
COMMUNITY AND RELATIONSHIPS
Within the larger context of the school exists the smaller community of the classroom. Teachers embrace opportunities for cooperation among the children in their groups. Children learn that the classroom belongs to the whole group and begin to take responsibility for its materials and toys. As children's relationships grow with one another, teachers assist them in recognizing the impact that their words and actions, both positive and negative, have on one another. Together as a class, teachers and children engage in social problem solving, which allows each child to feel valued as an individual and as a member of the larger group.These ideals of community, relationships, and cooperation lay the foundation for our curriculum.
Our professional team of educators works alongside parents in the classroom; the school director works closely with the Board of Directors; and families serve on committees. Together, we make sure that each school year is a successful one for children and families, and that the legacy of the school as envisioned by our founding families continues to be an opportunity for future generations of Co-op children.
Our professional team of educators works alongside parents in the classroom; the school director works closely with the Board of Directors; and families serve on committees. Together, we make sure that each school year is a successful one for children and families, and that the legacy of the school as envisioned by our founding families continues to be an opportunity for future generations of Co-op children.
WHY PLAY-BASED?
Our program is structured around developmentally appropriate learning experiences in the context of play. Play is the natural work of the young child. Through play, a child can become self reliant, develop a positive self-image, acquire fine and gross motor skills, and engage in language, science, and math experiences. We believe that intellectual goals are more important than the acquisition of specific academic knowledge; intellectual goals such as the ability to interpret and make sense of experience, to theorize about cause and effect, to hypothesize explorations to account for observation, and to analyze available information. Our educational philosophy is supported by the teaching of two psychologists, Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky. Among other ideas, Piaget emphasized the importance of the environment and the intellectual and social-moral growth of the child, and Vygotsky the importance of the relationships in the classroom between teachers and children and among the children as well. Vygotsky also wrote about the importance of the language that teachers use with children in the classroom and the impact of thoughtful and meaningful questions and comments that promote the acquisition of new knowledge and skills.
OUR CURRICULUM
Our educational philosophy begins with our view of the child. We see young children as powerful co-constructors in their own development across all domains. We see them as capable of deep cognitive explorations. But, we also see early childhood as a magical time and as a time when there needs to be a special emphasis on social and emotional development. The curriculum at the Co-op grows out of the interests on the children, the teacher’s knowledge of child development and developmentally appropriate practice. It is linked to the individual and group goals that the teachers set along with parent input. Teachers employ strategies including identification, selection, and preparation of materials, along with planning for differences in children’s individual development, learning styles, and cultural background. As we walk around the classroom, you will observe children engaged in free play time, a time when they can choose from multiple activities. These activities are planned and changed frequently, along with the other materials that are made available to children.
GENTLE SEPARATION
We have a separation procedure and process that supports that transfer of trust from children and parents to teachers and the school environment. This process begins with the home visit, an opportunity for your child to get to know one of their teachers in their most familiar environment: home. We believe it sends a powerful message to young children when a parent opens the door to the home and invites the teacher inside, a message that begins to build the relationship of trust between the teacher and child. Children’s first experiences at school are shorter times with smaller groups and with the support of their parents. We take the separation process seriously because we know that young children must first find that school is a safe place, with nurturing teachers before any further learning can take place.
